Vulcan EN500 vs CB500

[RatchetUYA]

Cb500 VS Vulcan EN500

Im a begginer rider, and in the market for a new bike. I am aware that i am comparing two very different bikes and there are reasons for that

My bike is going to be my main form of transportation, I dont own a car and will not in the near year or so.

The reason im comparing these two bikes is simple. I love the vulcan 500 for its looks. But i need to know more about its reliability.
I really want to hear that the vulcan is realiable enough to be an everyday commuter, my commutes arent long at all. about 20-30 miles a day or so. but there are days where i want to go out of town so that number can go up to 60 minute rides at a time.

Now on the the cb500. i have heard much praise about it as it is reliable nimble and fun. but there is one thing that bothers me. Its just plain old ugly, and thats a shame. I love the sound and look of the vulcan and that just doesnt exist here. But of course that that is just not as important as the reliabilty.

These are the only two bikes im looking at because they are in my price range and they are the power toppers for my license (A2 license). i am aware i will need to restrict both of these when i get them but thats okay.
The vulcan is slighly more expensive but i can deal with it. If you havent picked up yet, i much rather have the vulcan as i preffer cruisers but i will go for the cb if its is significantly better for what i need

The models im looking at are this
There are 3 vulcans:
1994 - Dont know much about this one $3140
1998 - 78,000 km on it $3400
1997 - 60,000 km on it $3750

There are two cb500
Both from 2000
one with 35,000 km on it $2500
One with 45,000 km on it $2750

AS you can see the cb500 are quite a bit cheaper, but again i rather spend the extra for the cruiser. This is my first bike.
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Nah im good

[Rogerborg]

[RatchetUYA]

[Rogerborg]

[RatchetUYA]

[stinkwheel]

You in the US of A? Looks like you are? But then you say you have an A2 licence?

That being the case, transatlantic concepts of what is a nice looking bike are somewhat different so a Vulcan is probably less likely to be lasooed and dragged to Sturgis behind a fat sweaty bloke on a knucklehead.

That aside, I'd say for me personally, I'd take the CB500 over an EN every time.

Like Roger, I'd take a GPZ500 (marketed in the US as EX500/500 ninja) over both.

I'd have an ER6 (faired or unfaired) before any of them.

EDIT: I'd have no real issues with reliability on an EN500. They are in a low state of tune. Very old ones (pre '94) might be prone to the exploding rotor issues some GPZ500 ones had. I wouldn't expect the finish to be as good as on a CB500.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[RatchetUYA]

[Rogerborg]

Oh, sure, if you're looking at 500 twins then definitely consider the GPZ500 / Ninja 500. It's tame and easy to ride, but with a fun little kick of power at 7,000+ rpm (although restriction might rain on that parade).

Keep any eye out for a late model with twin front discs, but don't rule out older bikes either except for the early 1990s models with the exploding magnets.

Rear shocks can be iffy, I'd pay some attention there.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[talkToTheHat]

Cruiser styled things are an acquired taste, hard parts touch down sooner, they have more shiny bits to look after and they generally have worse choice of tyres. Dont get me wrong, i loved my xv535 (native a2 btw) but it was more work to own and the running costs were high due to parts availability or lack thereof.

Get something common, restrict if required. What's the availability of bandits like where you are? CB500 probably a reasonable choice though.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Alpineandy]

Has the OP actually confirmed which country he's in?
Saying A2 suggests he's here in the UK but the $ numbers suggest he's not....
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The above comment isn't necessarily the truth and anyone that says it is, is only correct if it's the truth or they're bigger than me.

[talkToTheHat]

Is a2 not a thing across the various bits of Europe that agreed to it?
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Rogerborg]

A2 is Europe-wide. I'm guessing Austria, just because.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Beehive Bedlam]

I voted CB500. The only Vulcan I'm aware of isn't learner legal and requires a pilots license.

[talkToTheHat]

There's a modern er6 based vulcan that kind of pushes my buttons.

OP is likely referring to this mutant beast https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/kawasaki/kawasaki_en500_90.htm 50bhp parallel twin straight out of a real bike. Water cooled and everything. Plenty of poke for a cruiser.

I was considering the little brother EL250, which appears to have been the 33bhp ninja 250 engine in some kind of parts bin cruiser.

But what i have learnt is i should have bought a bandit and a restrictor kit when i had my 33bhp ticket. For a2, get a proper bike that's a2 native or restrict a proper bike, cruisers a pain in the ass on a budget as there's fuck all choice or competition so you get rubbish parts at high prices.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Val]

You know that only gays or women or both ride the Vulcan do you?

https://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200904/kawasaki-vulcan-500--3_600x0w.jpg

Nothing wrong with that just saying

Seriously though you cannot compare CB500 handling and reliability, which is a real bike, to some cruiser crap honestly hence the poll results no surprise here

https://i66.tinypic.com/vsgk1f.jpg
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Adrian Monk: Unless I'm wrong, which, you know, I'm not...
Yamaha Fazer FZS 600, MT09, XSR 900

[talkToTheHat]

You know that homophobes and misogynists come out to play when someone mentions a cruiser?

I'm going to take a guess that cruiser owners are more likely to be conservative (with a small c), straight, vanilla and bible bashers than owners of any other kind of motorcycle.

Of course there was the time someone yelled lesbians at me and my pillion (i had really long hair at that point) when we stopped for petrol, and there was much chav-mobile tyre-screaming escape drama when i took my helmet off and offered to get my hairy man boobs out. Pillion nearly fell over laughing.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Val]